Max Verstappen has to make his way past 100 karts.

The four-time world champion faces a grid made up of fans, content creators, athletes and personalities. His job is simple to explain but harder to execute: overtake all 100 competitors within 30 laps of a specially built kart circuit at the home of the British Grand Prix.

Verstappen has been clear that he is not approaching the event with complete certainty. “A hundred is a lot,” he said ahead of the race, while accepting that his background should give him a significant advantage. The Dutchman also joked that being beaten by amateur competitors would be “quite embarrassing”.

Karting is hardly unfamiliar territory for the Red Bull driver. He began at the age of four and spent his childhood racing across Europe, building the racecraft that later carried him into Formula 1. Verstappen has previously highlighted starts, overtaking and defending as the fundamental lessons learnt in karts, though he has not raced competitively in the discipline since 2016.

This challenge is not a standard kart race and the scale of the field will be its defining feature. Race director David Terrien has designed a purpose-built layout for the occasion, and navigating traffic, identifying gaps and avoiding incidents will be as important as raw speed.

Verstappen starts last, meaning the drivers at the front will have every opportunity to pull clear while he works through the pack.

The field includes a mixture of invited entrants from sport and online entertainment, rather than a conventional one-make karting championship grid. That unpredictability could be central to the spectacle. Even Formula 1 drivers have noted that 100 karts sharing limited space could make the opening stages chaotic.

Charles Leclerc urged the participants not to make contact with Verstappen, mindful that the F1 season is still ongoing. George Russell, meanwhile, suggested the only realistic way to delay his rival might be for drivers to cooperate and block the circuit. Oliver Bearman, who recently completed a smaller version of the concept, warned that a crowded first corner can quickly become hazardous.

Carlos Sainz offered a more optimistic prediction for Verstappen, arguing that his experience of progressing from 20th to first in a kart race showed how quickly a leading driver can recover ground. Gabriel Bortoleto also expects his friend to be in contention, although he acknowledged the quality of the opposing field will matter.

The race begins at 6pm UK time, with coverage beginning an hour earlier on Disney+ in the UK. The broadcast is set to include live timing, drone footage and communication between Verstappen and competitors.

For Verstappen, it is a return to the discipline that shaped his career. For everyone else, the task is to make a 100-kart traffic jam last long enough to prevent one of motorsport’s most accomplished racers from finding a route through it.